Cornelius Bumpus

While he made a few solo albums when the Doobies broke up in the early '80s, his Palmetto Records debut Known Fact marks his first splash into the world of smooth jazz. What he lacks in overall originality -- his graceful soprano and occasionally muscular tenor styles fits perfectly alongside many younger players -- he makes up for with some spirited genre-hopping. It must have been hard to resist including a Doobies tune, but his "Takin' It to the Streets" is pretty straightforward and doesn't venture from what listeners already know (though it's certainly fun to hear). He has better luck with the original samba "Abundare," where he raises a percussive flute melody over a wash of soundscaping, whistleblowing, and an aggressively rolling bass groove, stopping on occasion to make emphatic points with percussionist Gilad. His choice and arrangement of the Steely Dan tune "Chain Lightning" is creative, too; it's a hypnotic, slow blues simmer featuring Bumpus' richest tenor work amid a bed of Aries' punchy organ harmonies and solo.

Cornelius Bumpus

soprano sax, tenor sax, flute, vocals

Paul Adamy

bass

Rob Aries

keyboards

Matt Balitsaris

guitar

Clint de Gagnon

drums

Gilad

percussion